Afghanistan: Badakhshan

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many officials of the Afghan Government and of the United Nations are stationed in the province of Badakhshan.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: According to the Deputy Governor of Badakhshan, there are 12,112 paid employees of the Afghan Government working in the province. The UN has six international and 50 Afghan staff working in Badakhshan.

Higher Education: Disabled Students

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress they have made to improve access to higher education for disabled students since the National Audit Office's finding in 2002 that an 18-year-old with a disability or other health problem has a 40 per cent chance of access compared with other students; and what impact they expect their new proposals for higher education funding will have in improving that figure.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Government are keen to ensure that students with disabilities receive the best support possible so that they are able to study alongside their fellow students on an equal basis.
	HESA figures for 2001–02 suggest the proportion of higher education students with self-declared disabilities has grown from 4.6 per cent in 1996–97 to 6 per cent in 2001–02.
	The disabled students' allowances (DSAs) are available to students with disabilities attending or undertaking courses of higher education, who by reason of their disability, incur additional expenditure as a result of their attendance on the course. DSAs are paid in addition to the existing standard support package.
	The extension of DSAs to part-time undergraduates and full and part-time postgraduates in 2000–01, including Open University students, has enabled more students with disabilities to enter higher education. An additional 3,235 DSAs were awarded in 2003–04 compared to the previous year. Recently, the department has reviewed the administration of the DSA scheme and engaged with representatives from the sector so that disabled students are able to access the scheme more quickly and efficiently.
	We have done much to increase awareness of the financial assistance available to disabled students. The booklet Bridging the Gap: a guide to the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSAs) in Higher Education is specifically for disabled students, with over 180,000 copies available in 2004–05.
	The introduction of the new student finance arrangements will assist disabled students in the same way as non-disabled students, in that they will not pay fees up front, and loans will be written off after 25 years.
	"Aimhigher" aims to increase participation in higher education from under-represented groups. The planning guidance for the new integrated Aimhigher programme, which starts in August 2004, lists disabled students as an under-represented group for whom local partnerships should seek to widen access.
	Extra funding has been granted to universities to improve support and facilities for disabled students. Institutions receive HEFCE funding to recruit and support students with disabilities. A total of £10 million is allocated in this way in 2003–04 within the funding for widening access and improving retention.
	Additionally HEFCE is providing £117 million to improve provision for students with special needs, in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and its extension in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. Funding is available between April 2004 and March 2006 to improve the physical and IT infrastructure for students with disabilities. For example these may include signage for visually impaired, flashing fire alarms and hearing loops, wider doors, ramps, lifts and special IT or other equipment.

Universities: Honours Degrees

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 10 December 2002 (WA 21) concerning honours degrees, what were the equivalent figures for (a) 2003; (b) 1998; and (c) 1993.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Data for the number of first degree graduates in 1993 were published by the Universities Statistical Record and give figures for the total number of first degrees and the number of first class honours degrees only. These and figures for first degree graduates in 1998 and 2003, which are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, are given in the tables.
	
		First Degree Graduates by Class of Degree Obtained, 1993
		
			  Numbers Percentages 
			  1st class Other Total 1st class Other 
			 The University of Birmingham 230 2,354 2,584 8.9 91.1 
			 The University of Bristol 220 1,963 2,183 10.1 89.9 
			 The University of Cambridge 810 2,562 3,372 24.0 76.0 
			 The University of Leeds 264 2,892 3,156 8.4 91.6 
			 The University of Liverpool 159 2,155 2,314 6.9 93.1 
			 King's College London 124 1,300 1,424 8.7 91.3 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 49 642 691 7.1 92.9 
			 The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 192 2,152 2,344 8.2 91.8 
			 The University of Nottingham 241 2,538 2,779 8.7 91.3 
			 The University of Oxford 493 3,000 3,493 14.1 85.9 
			 The University of Sheffield 207 2,273 2,480 8.3 91.7 
			 The University of Southampton 171 1,703 1,874 9.1 90.9 
			 The University of Edinburgh 209 2,054 2,263 9.2 90.8 
			 The University of Glasgow 240 2,339 2,579 9.3 90.7 
			 Cardiff University 139 2,091 2,230 6.2 93.8 
			 The University of Warwick 140 1,625 1,765 7.9 92.1 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 232 994 1,226 18.9 81.1 
			 University College London 200 1,657 1,857 10.8 89.2 
			 The Victoria University of Manchester 288 2,958 3,246 8.9 91.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Universities Statistics Record
	
		First Degree Graduates by Class of Degree Obtained, 1998
		
			  Numbers Percentages 
			  1st class Upper 2nd Other Total 1st Class Upper 2nd Other 
			 The University of Birmingham 353 1,879 1,300 3,532 10.0 53.2 36.8 
			 The University of Bristol 318 1,252 790 2,360 13.5 53.1 33.4 
			 The University of Cambridge 888 1,688 568 3,144 28.2 53.7 18.1 
			 The University of Leeds 350 2,142 1,658 4,150 8.4 51.6 40.0 
			 The University of Liverpool 190 1,147 1,454 2,791 6.8 41.1 52.1 
			 King's College London 182 718 741 1,641 11.1 43.8 45.1 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 134 484 271 889 15.1 54.4 30.5 
			 The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 190 1,243 1,105 2,538 7.5 49.0 43.5 
			 The University of Nottingham 333 1,814 722 2,869 11.6 63.2 25.2 
			 The University of Oxford 634 1,805 1,249 3,688 17.2 48.9 33.9 
			 The University of Sheffield 252 1,681 1,354 3,287 7.7 51.1 41.2 
			 The University of Southampton 277 1,285 1,497 3,059 9.1 42.0 48.9 
			 The University of Edinburgh 328 1,453 1,149 2,930 11.2 49.6 39.2 
			 The University of Glasgow 317 1,218 1,464 2,999 10.6 40.6 48.8 
			 Cardiff University 300 1,451 1,288 3,039 9.9 47.7 42.4 
			 The University of Warwick 243 1,275 767 2,285 10.6 55.8 33.6 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 270 591 691 1,552 17.4 38.1 44.5 
			 University College London 376 1,349 1,043 2,768 13.6 48.7 37.7 
			 The Victoria University of Manchester 379 1,849 1,686 3,914 9.7 47.2 43.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency
	
		First Degree Graduates by Class of Degree Obtained, 2003
		
			  Numbers Percentages 
			  1st class Upper 2nd Other Total 1st class Upper 2nd Other 
			 The University of Birmingham 414 2,000 1,598 4,012 10.3 49.9 39.8 
			 The University of Bristol 462 1,561 733 2,756 16.8 56.7 26.5 
			 The University of Cambridge 1,160 1,851 518 3,529 32.9 52.5 14.6 
			 The University of Leeds 641 3,000 2,073 5,714 11.2 52.5 36.3 
			 The University of Liverpool 309 1,378 1,390 3,077 10.0 44.8 45.2 
			 King's College London 325 1,302 1,125 2,752 11.8 47.3 40.9 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 190 510 242 942 20.2 54.1 25.7 
			 The University of Newcastle upon Tyne 290 1,390 1,136 2,816 10.3 49.4 40.3 
			 The University of Nottingham 533 2,192 1,149 3,874 13.8 56.6 29.6 
			 The University of Oxford 767 1,980 526 3,273 23.4 60.5 16.1 
			 The University of Sheffield 553 2,121 1,307 3,981 13.9 53.3 32.8 
			 The University of Southampton 468 1,605 1,070 3,143 14.9 51.1 34.0 
			 The University of Edinburgh 482 1,688 1,262 3,432 14.0 49.2 36.8 
			 The University of Glasgow 295 1,326 1,640 3,261 9.0 40.7 50.3 
			 Cardiff University 459 1,958 1,101 3,518 13.0 55.7 31.3 
			 The University of Warwick 532 1,522 561 2,615 20.3 58.2 21.5 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 390 660 666 1,716 22.7 38.5 38.8 
			 University College London 545 1,653 1,083 3,281 16.6 50.4 33.0 
			 The Victoria University of Manchester 660 2,048 1,495 4,203 15.7 48.7 35.6 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency

NHS: Nurses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether—
	(a) a quarter of National Health Service nurses are now aged 50 or over and most of them plan to retire when they are 58; and
	(b) there is a 15 to 20 per cent drop-out rate from nurse training courses;
	and, if so, why and how they intend to address the situation.

Lord Warner: As at September 2002, 19 per cent of qualified nurses employed in the National Health Service were aged 50 and over. This is in line with the expected age profile of the workforce. Information is not collected centrally on when nurses intend to retire.
	Extending the participation of older staff is a key part of our strategy to meet our workforce targets. The Department of Health is promoting flexible retirement through the Improving Working Lives initiative to encourage nurses to consider alternatives to retiring, such as reducing their commitment or taking on new roles.
	The latest complete information on attrition from nurse training courses relates to the 1997–98 cohort and was 20 per cent. The Human Resource Performance Framework published in October 2000 sets a target of 13 per cent attrition for students entering nurse training in 2000–01. Workforce development confederations are working with higher education institutions to ensure that this target is achieved.

Temik

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What would be the effect upon the health of the public of the addition of 1.2 tonnes of Temik (10 per cent Aldicarb) to the public water supply; and what measures are in place to deal with such an incident.

Lord Warner: There are safeguards in place to protect the safety and quality of public water supplies. The effects on public health would depend on the concentration and the amount ingested from any contamination of public water supplies. Nationally agreed medical and public health briefings on aldicarb, and a public information sheet, are available to healthcare professionals through the National Poisons Information Service. The National Health Service has plans for major incidents and would be supported by advice from appropriate experts.

Organ Donation

Baroness Masham of Ilton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Following campaigns in 1999 and 2002 to raise awareness of organ donation among south Asian and black communities, what success they have had in raising the level of donation among these communities; and whether they have any plans for future campaigns

Lord Warner: The campaigns launched in 1999 and 2002 to raise awareness of organ donation among the south Asian and black communities are ongoing.
	End of year figures are not yet available but there are early signs that donation rates for Asian, black and mixed race donors are improving.
	The number of deceased organ donors in the United Kingdom since 1999, by financial year and ethnic origin, (percentage of total where ethnic origin recorded) is as follows:
	
		
			 Ethnic origin 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
			 White 391 (97.3%) 733 (97.1%) 729 (98.2%) 755 (97.7%) 639 (96.5%) 
			 Asian/Asian-British 6 (1.5%) 13 (1.7%) 2 (0.3%) 8 (1.0%) 13 (2.0%) 
			 Black/Black-British 4 (1.0%) 7 (0.9%) 4 (0.5%) 4 (0.5%) 5 (0.8%) 
			 Chinese/Oriental — 1 (0.1%) 1 (0.1%) 2 (0.3%) — 
			 Mixed — 1 (0.1%) 2 (0.3%) 1 (0.1%) 5 (0.8%) 
			 Other 1 (0.2%) — 4 (0.5%) 3 (0.4%) — 
			 Total non-White 11 (2.7%) 22 (2.9%) 13 (1.8%) 18 (2.3%) 23 (3.5%) 
			 Not recorded 375 18 3 4 — 
			 Total 777 773 745 777 662 
		
	
	2003–04 figures up to 19 February 2004.

FTSE 100 Companies

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	For the most recent year for which statistics are available, how many men and how many women were employed mainly or wholly in the United Kingdom by FTSE 100 companies.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: A breakdown of this information is not maintained within government statistics.

Ofcom: Pornographic and Paedophilic Images

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether Ofcom has been given any statutory duties or powers under the Communications Act 2003 to receive or act upon complaints about pornographic and paedophilic images shown on the internet.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Ofcom has no direct duties or powers to receive or act on complaints about images of child abuse or other pornographic images shown on the Internet. However, Ofcom has responsibility for approving the industry code for premium rate services, which is administered and enforced by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS). Ofcom also has the power to enforce breaches of the approved code by imposing fines or ultimately suspending the right to provide services.
	The Government believe that co- and self-regulation are more appropriate than statutory regulation of content specific to the Internet. We support the role of the Internet Watch Foundation, which was established by the Internet industry in consultation with the Government. The Internet Watch Foundation works in partnership with Internet service providers, telecommunications companies, mobile operators, software providers, police and Government, to minimise the availability of illegal Internet content, particularly child abuse images. Its Internet hotline deals with reports of potentially illegal Internet content, such as websites, newsgroups and online groups that contain images of child abuse anywhere in the world; adult material that potentially breaches the Obscene Publications Act in the UK; and criminally racist material in the UK.
	One measure of the success of this self-regulatory approach is that less than 2 per cent of the illegal content reported to the IWF relates to material hosted in the UK.

House of Lords: Ministerial Answers

Baroness Miller of Hendon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 11 February (HL Deb, col. 1100) that it would be "quite improper" for him as a Minister to answer the question put to him by a Member of the House, whether they will publish in the Official Report the criteria which permit a Minister to define a question as "quite improper" and decline to answer it.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Lord Sainsbury of Turville refused to answer the question put to him on 11 February by the noble Baroness on the grounds that he disagreed profoundly with the assumption on which it was based. If he had answered it, it would have been foolish rather than improper.

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the locations of the nearest alternative 50-metre swimming pools and 10-metre Olympic diving platforms to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The nearest alternative 50-metre swimming pools are located in Ealing, Aldershot and Norwich.
	The nearest alternative 10-metre Olympic diving platform is located at Southampton.

Railways: Salisbury to Yeovil Line

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that the existence of a single-track line with passing places on the railway between Salisbury and Yeovil is compatible with the demands of a modern railway system.

Lord Davies of Oldham: South West Trains will be introducing an hourly service from Waterloo to Yeovil in December but has not found it necessary to reinstate double track west of Salisbury. The Strategic Rail Authority has agreed with local authorities that this will be followed by an assessment of the likely demand for extending the hourly service to Exeter. The study will also consider whether any infrastructure improvements would be needed to allow this to happen.

Regulations: Cost to Business

Viscount Goschen: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What they estimate to be the cost to business of new regulations introduced in each year since 1997; and how those figures are calculated.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The information required is not held in the form requested. All regulatory proposals likely to impact on business are subject to regulatory impact assessment (RIA). RIAs are published and placed in the Libraries of the House. In addition a series of Command Papers list RIAs for each six-month period, the most recent being No 5981.
	RIAs contain a wide range of information on the costs and benefits of each proposal.